Introduction to Reynatis
FuRyu’s upcoming action RPG Reynatis has been making waves in select spheres due to its clear Final Fantasy Versus XIII/XV inspirations and its official collaboration content with The World Ends with You. Still, considering how inconsistent FuRyu’s general releases are, there has been caution surrounding this title, which makes an early look at it crucial in establishing expectations.
Combat System Overview
The combat was heavily emphasized in the gameplay we’ve witnessed from Anime Expo 2024. As a brief deep dive, Reynatis’ combat system has two classifications. Suppression mode slows your movement speed significantly, encouraging evasive and defensive maneuvers, while Liberation mode is far swifter and more aggressive at the cost of greater frailty.
The swift yet seemingly consequence-driven combat are potent ingredients that can’t be ignored.
From a cursory assessment, the Suppression mode seems ideal when first encountering new foes in order to learn their telegraphs and movesets. Above all else, the sheer speed of the combat stood out, at least with Marin, instilling curiosity about how the rest of the cast would be handled. This may seem like a silly concern, but these lower-scale action experiences, unfortunately, tend to lack inherently altered combat approaches between their characters.
Magic Spells and MP Management
This potential diversification is enhanced through magic spells called Wizarts. However, running out of MP causes characters to revert to their Suppressed forms, so being cautious of your magic spending seems paramount for continuous success. This general design implementation has the capability of forcing genuine thought into new combat encounters, preventing Liberation mode from being spammed and wiping the floor against bosses and such.
The city’s atmosphere is unsurprisingly reminiscent of the early footage of Final Fantasy Versus XIII.
Generally speaking, perfect dodging enemy attacks in your Suppressed state will lead to passive MP regeneration, while Liberation will have you go all out. It’s too soon to say how these systems will be actualized in the grander picture of it all, as these strengths can only be perused in hindsight rather than just experiencing the opening hours. I sincerely hope that the perfect dodging is at least somewhat strict and not mindless in practice. Still, the potential is undeniable, so here’s hoping these mechanics coalesce for genuine fulfillment. It’s also worth acknowledging that on PlayStation 5, the framerate was pretty smooth; here’s hoping that performance is consistent and indicative of the final build.
Atmosphere and Inspirations
Besides the combat, Reynatis is innately compelling for admittedly vague, emotive-driven reasons. The city’s atmosphere is unsurprisingly reminiscent of the early footage of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, which I have a powerful attachment to. It’s impossible to conclude anything regarding the characters or narrative themselves, but the ambiance of this world is already drawing me in for justifications that are obviously highly specific.
Director’s Vision and Influences
It’s not all that shocking, though, seeing that the Reynatis director, Takumi Isobe, is a massive fan of Tetsuya Nomura’s projects. In fact, he even mentioned Versus XIII to Nomura in a recent interview, so there’s more than likely a passion for the morphed title there. The design of the protagonist, Marin, makes such a notion readily apparent. Someone unfamiliar with Reynatis can understandably mistake him for a redesigned Noctis.
Final Thoughts and Release Date
This pre-release gander at Reynatis hasn’t exactly absolved all concerns, but the vision of what this title could ultimately be has shone. The vast, ambitious cast and the swift yet seemingly consequence-driven combat are potent ingredients that can’t be ignored. The West will see Reynatis be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on September 27, 2024, so we’ll see the results then.
